This is what happens when Steph Curry visits an Oakland elementary school

OAKLAND, California — The ESPN crew, the NBATV crew, the security guards, the kids sporting their Steph Curry number-30 jerseys, the teachers sporting their Steph Curry number-30 jerseys, the media milling about the periphery of the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School auditorium, the small army of public relations people, the young grown folks loitering on the corner of 10th and Filbert yelling "It's him! It's him!" when a black Chevy Blazer turns the corner, including the one who flashes a LeBron James jersey as the truck cruises past — they're all here for one man.

This is just another day for Curry, NBA MVP and point guard of the league-champion Golden State Warriors. This is what happens on a Tuesday afternoon, when he visits an elementary school in West Oakland's tough Acorn neighborhood.

In 2014, he was a star. In 2015, he became a superstar. And if the early months of 2016 are any indication, Curry has permanently crossed over from American Sports Celebrity to American Celebrity At-Large.

He's supposed to arrive at 2 p.m.. By 1:45, the kids are antsy, fidgeting while seated on the floor. It looks like one in three kids — and about one in two adults — is decked out in Warriors gear. When a Curry highlight reel is projected onto a pulldown screen before he arrives, the kids ooh and aah and raise their arms with each swished shot.

Local bias aside, few recent athletes have so successfully enraptured fans and media alike. Curry is wholesome, preposterously skilled and relatively normal-sized at 6-foot-3 — which all adds up to something irresistible. His jerseys are the NBA's most popular sellers, ahead of LeBron and the rest.

Yours truly called him a "golden gold" in a headline this season — but that's only par for the course. Time called watching him play the "antidote to America's anger problem" in another headline. The New York Times ran a story about professional ballerinas gushing over his delicate basketball artistry.

Curry even pitches water as his beverage endorsement, for crying out loud.

Technically, he's not pushing the water itself, but Brita water filters. And that's why we're all here: Curry is promoting the virtues of drinking water at MLK.

There was some minor hand-wringing in the local press about the promotional aspect of this visit; constant scrutiny, too, is the price of ascending to stardom's highest rung. But when Curry enters the auditorium to overjoyed screams and applause, try telling the elementary school kids that this event is anything but awesome.

The night before, Curry hit his NBA-record 300th three-pointer of the season. It came in typically jaw-dropping Curry fashion, a behind-the-back, step-back flick of the wrist over 6-foot-10 Ersan Ilyasova from about three steps past the line.

This is part of Curry's charm. His game seems almost tailor-made to be shared on social media. What does he do — practice shooting behind-the-back, step-back threes over 6-foot-10 dudes? Curry laughs at the suggestion — but only kind of.

"No, not over a 6-10 dude," he tells me after his session with the kids. "I don't practice with much defense, but the actual move I made there I've done before. I practice all sorts of dribble moves from all over the court.

"It's still kind of amazing that I made that one, in a way, but it's not the first time I've shot that shot. Muscle memory takes over, and in that situation there's a reason I felt comfortable enough to shoot it: I've worked on it."

Well, that explains it. Maybe. Kind of.

So are the fans who stop Curry in the street more likely to talk about seeing him on TV or on the Internet? He laughs again — and the answer might surprise you.

"Most of it is the new social media wave," he says.

Thank countless moments like three-pointer number 300 for this, and Curry's hero's welcome at MLK. After Curry enters the auditorium, he gives a little talk about the virtues of water and plays a quiz game with some of the kids at the front of the auditorium.

That seems normal enough. But how many NBA MVPs would let a gang of children dump water over their heads?

That's exactly what Curry did. His regular-guy decency, along with the Vine-ready highlights, are major components of the Curry mystique.

Since the 2014-15 NBA season began, Curry has led the Warriors to a shocking title, put them on pace to finish with a better record this season than any team in history, won an NBA MVP award, made himself the frontrunner for another MVP award this season, witnessed his three-year-old daughter Riley become a celebrity in her own right — the list goes on.

Perhaps one statistic encapsulates his current dominance best: Curry already set the NBA three-point record this season, breaking his own record set last season. With 20 games to go, he'll break his own record with every subsequent three he makes from here on out. So yeah, that's the deal.

Asked about the biggest change he's experienced over the past year, Curry pauses for a beat.

"It's been a good learning experience," he says. "The world is a lot smaller than it used to be."

But is that good or bad?

Curry is greeted by students in Oakland on Tuesday.

Image: Adm Golub/Invision for Brita/AP

"I guess it's a good thing, because it means you're having success on the court," Curry says. "But it's also kind of negative, because the normal stuff you used to do, you have to approach it in a different way. If you're going to dinner, trying to go to the movies or taking your daughters to the park, you have to be prepared that some fans will recognize you."

Curry, his family and all of his teammates are caught up in a capital-M Moment, with the slender point guard at the center. You see it in the crowds who come to watch the Warriors on the road. You see it on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And you see it in the overjoyed reaction Curry gets when he enters the MLK auditorium.

"I think about the past and where we've come from, but when it comes to taking myself out of the moment, I try not to do that," Curry says. "I've gotten a lot of advice from a lot of other players who've experienced success in the league. You don't know when the journey will end, so take advantage of it now.

"We'd do this journey a disservice if we focused on where we wanted to end up, because we still have a lot left to accomplish."

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